Catalogue binder



June 30, 1964 E. c. RANKIN ETAL CATALOGUE BINDER Filed Sept. 4, 1959 INVENTORS. EDwA/m 6'. RAN/(JN ARTHUR E z/a//fvso/v United States Patent C) 3,139,632 (IATALO'GUE BINDER Edward tC. Rankin, Oak Park, and Arthur F. Johnson, Northbrook, ill., assignors to A. J. Research & Metals Co., Chicago, Iii., a corporation of Illinois Filed Sept. 4, 1959, Ser. No. 838,242 4 Claims. (Cl. 129-24) The improvements disclosed and claimed hereafter relate to loose-leaf binding mechanisms and more particularly to that class of device known as catalogue binders, by reason of the fact that they are adapted to bind large and heavy gatherings of sheets and pamphlets for constant reference use, and must be ruggedly constructed and easily manipulated for safety and workaday utility.

The principal object of the invention is the provision of a rugged, inexpensive, and practical catalogue-type binding means comprising a number of rigid, arcuate stringer rods, each pivoted at one end on the backbone of the binder or cover and each having formed at its opposite end a bulbous locking head adapted to snap into a notched locking Seat, together with a long locking rod Slidable into position behind the rod heads in all locking seats.

Additional aspects of novelty and utility relate to details of the construction and operation of the preferred commercial embodiment described hereinafter in View of the annexed drawing, in which:

FIG. l is a view of the interior of the open binder in empty condition;

FIG. 2 is an end view of a fully loaded binder in closed condition;

FIG. 3 is another end view of the loaded binder in open reading condition and illustrating the wide reading gutter achieved;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary section looking along lines 4--4 of FIG. 1 showing details of the locking and hinge ends of the Stringer or binding mechanism;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective detail of parts of the Stringer locking means;

FIG. 6 is a View similar to FIG. 5, showing a Stringery locked-in.

So-called catalowe binders are very thick and large and are intended to carry a heavy, bulky page load, by reason of which they must be ruggedly constructed to withstand abuse and constant usage since they are generally used for reference (as distinguished from storage) purposes in connection with inventory, pricing, and related sales activities.

As with all thick books, whether of the loose-leaf or conventionally bound varieties, the character of the reading gutter between adjacent pages in open condition is greatly affected by the type of binding employed and the thickness of the page load, many binding expediencies affording satisfactory mechanical performance but providing very narrow and deep reading gutters which make it difficult to read the pages down near their bound Inargms.

The constructions hereinafter described provide an inexpensive yet extremely rugged binding mechanism which aiiords a good reading gutter at any part of the book, and which can be easily loaded and unloaded, but is so securely locked up by a simple locking device that a large and heavily-loaded volume can be dropped or thrown about without danger of bursting open.

The cover Structure ofthe binder is conventional, as shown with reference to FIGS. 1 and 4, in the respects that it comprises a very wide backbone section 10 flanked by a pair of hinged front and rear covers 11, all of which are usually constructed from binders board of suitable thickness, adorned with an adhesively-attached plastic or 3,139,082 Patented June 30, 1964 clothalike covering 12, which also provides hinges, as at :t3 (FIGS. 1 and 4), for the two covers..

The binding means comprises a plurality of identical binding units generally indicated at 15 (FIG. 1), and each secured in spaced relation to the other on the inside face of the backbone, each binding unit consisting of an elongated stiliening plate 16, having at one end a hinge unit 2i) pivotally supporting an elongated arcuate Stringer rod 24, and at the opposite end a locking unit 30 with which the free end of the Stringer engages in the manner described hereafter.

As viewed in FIG. 4, the hinge units 20 each comprise a metal cleat 21 haivng one end portion 22 offset and rolled into a gudgeon sleeve to pivotally receive the offset end 26 of an appertaining one of the arcuate Stringer rods, said rod ends constituting hinge pintles and each having a circumferential groove 27 near its end to receive a springy retaining C-washer 28, whereby each Stringer is secured for pivotal movement in its gudgeon or hinge cleat 2i).

Rivets 29 passed through the appertaining Stilfener plates 16, the hinge cleats, and the cover backbone Secure the hinge units (and the hasp or locking units) to the backbone.

At the opposite end of each Stringer from its hinge cleat, the corresponding hasp or locking cleats 39 (FIG. 4) have the same olif'set and rolled configuration as the hinge cleats, including particularly a flat mounting or cleat portion 31 with an offset end rolled into a sleeve 32 slightly larger in diameter than the Stringer rods, this sleeve having a wide locking notch 33 cut therein and of a size to admit the ball-headed locking end 25 of a corresponding Stringer rod, as in FIGS. 4 and 6.

Preferably, the ball-shaped locking heads 25 and seating notches 33 in the locking cleats are dlmensioned, along with the length of the stringers themselves, to require a moderate pressure in order to snap the ball ends Z5 into their respective notches 33, whereby the Stringers are each Secured in closed position sufficiently to withstand a limited amount of handling even when fully loaded.

A very simple means is provided for positively locking the Stringers closed in their respective locking cleats or hasps, and consists (FIG. l) in a fairly stiff wire rod 40 long enough to span the distance between all locking cleats, and of small enough diameter to Slide down into and through the several hasp sleeves 32 behind each ballhead 25 between the latter and the corresponding notch 33 in the manner shown to magnied scale in FIGS. 4 and 6, these views ilustrating the blocking effect of the locking rod or wire in preventing any withdrawal of the ball-heads from their seats once this rod is in position.

A further feature of the locking means, as Seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, resides in the provision of a recurved upper end 4I at the top of the rod constituting a handle, the recurved portion being of a length slightly greater than the length of a hasp sleeve 32 and having its free end portion 42 bent inwardly to spring and catch beneath the sleeve, as in FIG. 6, and prevent accidental withdrawal of the rod. Between the offset catch end and the bight of this handle formation the wire has a V-shaped crimp 43 forming another catch lug adapted to spring easily into the ball-head notch 33 in the appertaining hasp sleeve when the lock rod is pushed fully down, by reason of which the rod is Safely secured in locking position such that even extraordinary abuse cannot cause the Stringers to spring open under a capacity load of pages, Such as shown in FIG. 2.

In order to release the stringere, the latching lug parts 42, 43 of the lock rod are sprung out as by use of the fingernail or a small blade, and the shank of the rod is drawn fully free of the three (or other number of) locking cleats, whereupon each of the ball-heads 25 may be swung free of its locking cleat.

We claim:

1. In a binder of the class described which has a pair of covers hingedly joined to a back panel, and Stringer means in the form of a rod hingedly mounted at one end on said panel to pivot crosswise of the latter and adapted to lock up at its opposite end by means on said end engaging a member also mounted on said panel, improvements in Stringer locking means characterized, namely: in that said locking means is a tubular sleeve member provided with means mounting the same on said panel in juxtaposition to the locking end of an appertaining one of said stringers, the axis of said tubular member extending in a direction transverse to that of the length of the rod and parallel to the pivotal axis of the rod; said tubular member having a slot in its side and said locking rod end having a ball head portion joined to the rod by a narrowed neck portion, both the ball-head portion and neck tting down into said slot to a depth in which said neck portion has clearance inwardly of the inner tubular wall whereby to leave a passage in which a locking rod can be passed into one axial end of the tubular member to lie in said sleeve portion in blocking position behind said ball-head portion and in said neck portion to prevent egress of the head portion from the slot; and locking rod means enterable in the tubular member as and for the purpose aforesaid.

2. A construction according to claim l in which there are a plurality of said stringers and sleeve members with the bores of the latterV in axial alignment and the locking rod is of a length to pass lockingly through all of the sleeves, and said rod further has a recurved end portion constituting a handle portion of which overlies the outer side of an endmost one of said sleeves.

3. A construction according to claim 2 further characterized in that said recurved overlying portion of said handle is of a length to straddle the entire length of the sleeve portion of said endmost one of the sleeve members and also has at least one offset catch formation of a dimension and location normally to spring into catching engagement with a part of said sleeve when the locking rod is slid home into fully locking relation to all said sleeve members.

4. A construction according to claim 3 in which said catch formation in the handle is located normally to spring into the side slot in the sleeve straddled thereby and is removable therefrom by springing the recurved part of the handle away from the slot.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,238,472 Wood "l Aug. 28, 1917 1,441,873 Moore Jan. 9, 1923 FOREIGN PATENTS 925,068 France Mar. 24, 1947 

1. IN A BINDER OF THE CLASS DESCRIBED WHICH HAS A PAIR OF COVERS HINGEDLY JOINED TO A BACK PANEL, AND STRINGER MEANS IN THE FORM OF A ROD HINGEDLY MOUNTED AT ONE END ON SAID PANEL TO PIVOT CROSSWISE OF THE LATTER AND ADAPTED TO LOCK UP AT ITS OPPOSITE END BY MEANS ON SAID END ENGAGING A MEMBER ALSO MOUNTED ON SAID PANEL, IMPROVEMENTS IN STRINGER LOCKING MEANS CHARACTERIZED, NAMELY: IN THAT SAID LOCKING MEANS IS A TUBULAR SLEEVE MEMBER PROVIDED WITH MEANS MOUNTING THE SAME ON SAID PANEL IN JUXTAPOSITION TO THE LOCKING END OF AN APPERTAINING ONE OF SAID STRINGERS, THE AXIS OF SAID TUBULAR MEMBER EXTENDING IN A DIRECTION TRANSVERSE TO THAT OF THE LENGTH OF THE ROD AND PARALLEL TO THE PIVOTAL AXIS OF THE ROD; SAID TUBULAR MEMBER HAVING A SLOT IN ITS SIDE AND SAID LOCKING ROD END HAVING A BALL HEAD PORTION JOINED TO THE ROD BY A NARROWED NECK PORTION, BOTH THE BALL-HEAD PORTION AND NECK FITTING DOWN INTO SAID SLOT TO A DEPTH IN WHICH SAID NECK PORTION HAS CLEARANCE INWARDLY OF THE INNER TUBULAR WALL WHEREBY TO LEAVE A PASSAGE IN WHICH A LOCKING ROD CAN BE PASSED INTO ONE AXIAL END OF THE TUBULAR MEMBER TO LIE IN SAID SLEEVE PORTION IN BLOCKING POSITION BEHIND SAID BALL-HEAD PORTION AND IN SAID NECK PORTION TO PREVENT EGRESS OF THE HEAD PORTION FROM THE SLOT; AND LOCKING ROD MEANS ENTERABLE IN THE TUBULAR MEMBER AS AND FOR THE PURPOSE AFORESAID. 